New Jersey Facts

Fast Facts

Population:

8,638,396

Capital:

Trenton; 85,650

Area:

8,721 square miles (22,588 square kilometers)

Per Capita Income:

U.S. $39,567

Date Statehood Achieved:

December 18, 1787

Flag

Wedged between Philadelphia and New York City, New Jersey has long been a distributor of goods and a giant of industry. The state ranks first in production of pharmaceuticals, which account for 12 percent of all jobs. Along a narrow strip—part of the megalopolis stretching from Boston to Washington, D.C.—population density far exceeds that of India, yet 57 percent of the state remains forested or in farms. In million-acre Pinelands National Reserve, a model of pragmatic environmental management, development is diverted from the most fragile areas. Ocean resorts from Cape May to Asbury Park were fashionable by the late 19th century. Today some $300 million in taxes collected from Atlantic City casinos are used to benefit the state's elderly and handicapped.